windows-tts

What This Skill Does

The windows-tts skill is a powerful utility designed for OpenClaw users operating within a WSL2 (Windows Subsystem for Linux) environment. It bridges the gap between the Linux subsystem and the Windows host OS by invoking the built-in Windows System.Speech synthesizer via PowerShell. Unlike standard TTS solutions that require complex PulseAudio or WSLg configurations, this skill leverages powershell.exe to trigger audio directly through the default Windows playback device. This ensures a seamless, reliable experience for users who need immediate speech output without wrestling with sound server drivers or virtual audio cables.

Installation

To integrate this skill into your environment, run the following command in your terminal: clawhub install openclaw/skills/skills/547895019/windows-tts-wsl2 This command automatically fetches the necessary shell scripts (say.sh and list_voices.sh) to your local skill directory, configuring the paths for instant execution.

Use Cases

This skill is specifically engineered for scenarios where audio playback is critical but standard libraries fail. Use it when:

1. Your system is configured in WSL2 where local audio drivers (PulseAudio/Pipewire) are improperly mapped or inconsistent.
2. You require native, high-quality Windows voice synthesis (Microsoft Speech API).
3. You are building a notification agent that needs to "announce" status updates or alerts directly from your desktop.
4. OpenClaw's internal TTS engine is producing zero-byte files or is incompatible with your system's output hardware.

Example Prompts

• "OpenClaw, please read out the last error message from the logs using your voice."
• "I can't hear anything when you respond; please try using the windows-tts system for your next output."
• "Hey, use the Chinese voice to read the summary of this article out loud."

Tips & Limitations

• Direct Playback: Note that this skill is a fire-and-forget mechanism; it does not return an audio file path. It is meant for real-time auditory interaction.
• Voice Customization: You can list available system voices using bash {baseDir}/scripts/list_voices.sh. Once you find a preferred voice, utilize the --voice flag in the say.sh script to set a custom persona for your assistant.
• Shell Escaping: When calling scripts from bash, be mindful of command injection and character escaping. Use the provided wrapper scripts to avoid PowerShell syntax errors related to variable expansion.
• Dependencies: This skill requires a functional Windows host environment. It is not suitable for bare-metal Linux installations.